DutchBasecamp

Big congratulations to ExoMatter on raising 1.7 million euros! 💰 ExoMatter has developed an AI-driven platform that empowers companies to discover new materials which helps to optimise for performance, cost and sustainability. Already with many existing clients in Germany and some other parts of Europe, they now aim to use the funding to support their further growth and next steps! They are currently participating in the RocketUp EIT programme (focusing on internationalisation & GTM strategy building) that we have been facilitating for the last 6 months, and with results that can be put to good use soon now! Good luck to Barbara Bachus and Josua Vieten with your further growth plans to take Exomatter to the next level 🚀

Congratulations to Globaliser alumnus Confocal.nl on securing a €5M investment! 🚀 Confocal.nl is a microscope manufacturer whose microscopes use minimal laser light at a very high resolution preventing cells from behaving differently, fading or dying faster, allowing processes in living cells to be studied longer and more accurately. The funding will empower them to grow further globally and enable scientists to achieve breakthroughs faster in developing effective medicine and innovative agricultural crops. Good luck Pim Vos and the team with your next steps on the road to internationalisation! 🌎

Congratulations to FABBRIC on securing a €1.25M investment! 🥳 Fabbric is currently participating in our 6 month internationalistion programme sponsored by EIT Urban Mobility EIT Manufacturing EIT Food, focusing on building a solid GTM Strategy to fuel their next steps for fast growth. Fabbric aims to “empower creators globally with the tools they need to bring their fashion ideas to life, fast and affordably” as they launch their platform to the public, and plan to keep growing fast thanks to the high demand for their solution already, and their recent investment! Good luck Alba Rocafort Marco & Hugo Cuesta and the team with your next steps on the road to internationalisation and the future growth of Fabbric! We can't wait to see what your next chapter of growth looks like 🚀

Congratulations to Globaliser alumnus Blue Radix on securing a €5M investment! 🚀 Blue Radix, a market leader AI-driven technology for greenhouse operations with nearly 100 greenhouse clients globally, will use the investment to speed up the growth of the international team. Good luck Ronald Hoek and the team with your next steps on the road to internationalisation!

You’d be amazed at what we can squeeze into a 5 day field trip to Berlin for 25 (e)MBA students of University of Fredericton... But last week we were put to the test... The conclusion: A jam-packed week of 18 speakers, sightseeing, eating & drinking through the city, and don't forget the many (bad) jokes in between It was our first time in Berlin with Joe Pitzel H.B. Comm (SPAD) B.A. Econ MBA PHD & Elizabeth MacLaughlin for this field trip after completing 4 similar programmes in Amsterdam together within the last few years. It was great to dive deeper into another startup ecosystem and demonstrate what the city of Berlin has to offer 'future entrepreneurs' and students completing their Global Capstones at the University of Fredericton 🇩🇪 Whether it was the interactive workshops on growth hacking and rapid prototyping, or presentations taking place on a range of topics, from pricing to distribution to people & culture, the amount of information thrown into this week was HUGE! And it was only right that we end the week together with some wurst, pretzels and German beer tastings of course 😉🥨🍻 Shoutout to the students for being so engaging, fun and keeping our Programme Facilitator Kirra Pickering on her toes throughout the week And a big thank-you to our energetic and insightful speakers of the week for sharing their knowledge and experience with us Jan-Philipp Heinisch Johannis Hatt Johan Philippe Stam Karina Nemeth Richard Miranda Asmus Eggert Jonathan van Spijker Baan Niels Beuck Joris van Winsen Jana Scharfschwerdt Cristina Iulia Toma Evelyne Keller, PhD Mathias Niehaus Gaston Serpenti Jort Schutte Dee Scarano Rebecca Courtney Bis zum nächsten Mal (Until next time) 👋🇩🇪

A great opportunity to explore the German market from our partner Business Metropole Ruhr GmbH for Dutch AI Health Tech startups. There are 2 wildcards up for grab to join the 'AI for Health' TechTour in Bochum. To apply or get more information, see the link in the comments.

🚀 Last week, we took Elfsquad, Capptions, De BouwApp, Stager, AirInternet®, CargoLedger and MAGOXX®Board to the Ruhr Area to move beyond strategy on paper and dive into real-world German market expansion. Here are some key takeaways from the trip: 🌐 The Ruhr Area is the perfect gateway to Germany. It's close to the Netherlands, there's a strong cultural alignment, and the local business community is eager to collaborate with Dutch companies. 🇩🇪 Trust is the cornerstone of success in Germany. Complying with local regulations (think GDPR), showcasing local references, and tailoring your value proposition to the German market are essential steps to winning over local customers. 🤝🏼 Business is (still) all about people. Building a solid network is crucial for success in a new market, and trips like this provide immediate access to a curated, valuable network. A big thank you to Florian Hoppen, Maaike Molenkamp, Frederic Knaudt, Maike Speksnijder-Moser, Laura Fritz-Wilde, Eva Vergles, Maurice Reinhard, Dr. Arnd Becker, Klaus Thönißen, LL.M., Tim Berghoff, Jessika Lüning, Willemijn van der Toorn and Jörg Kemna who contributed to making this trip a huge success! 🙏 And a special shoutout to our partner Business Metropole Ruhr GmbH for their fantastic cooperation. Interested in expanding to the German market? Reach out to our colleague Hugo Niezen to explore what we have lined up for you!

🇩🇪 Germany, here we come! Yesterday, we kicked off the 'Scaling to Germany' trip we will be making to the Ruhr Area next week in partnership with Business Metropole Ruhr GmbH and participants Elfsquad, Capptions, AirInternet®, MAGOXX®Board, Stager, De BouwApp and CargoLedger. Lars Freriks, founder of Trustoo.nl, shared some valuable insights from his own experience expanding to Germany, helping us get ready for next week: 👉 Start small: Learn, adapt, and grow from there. The Ruhr Area is the perfect test ground — close to the Netherlands, culturally more aligned with the Netherlands then other parts of Germany, and you can easily fit in a few meetings and be back home for dinner. 👉 Digital adoption is different: Germany is behind the Netherlands in digital adoption. This can be an opportunity, but also a challenge when convincing German clients. You need to understand the impact for your market entry strategy. 👉 Trust is everything: Whether it’s hosting data locally, getting that CE certification, or having a local support team — it’s all about building trust, depending on your sector and clients. Next week, we’re diving into a packed 2-day program in Bochum and Essen to learn how to develop a winning Go-to-Market strategy for Germany. Stay tuned!🎯 🤝 Want to meet us while we're there? On the evening of the 24th, Business Metropole Ruhr is hosting a networking event in Essen to connect the Dutch participants with the Ruhr Area ecosystem. You can still sign up via the link in the comments!

Empowering tomorrow’s innovative scale-ups! ⚙ Last Friday, Cyril Schouten was invited to The Gate at the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven to provide an interactive workshop on Internationalisation Readiness for entrepreneurs of the European Venture Programme. Combining (student) entrepreneurs of deeptech ventures from 5 European universities DTU - Technical University of Denmark, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL ,Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven and Technical University of Munich. We dove into differences between international markets, zooming in on regulatory and cultural implications for AI, deeptech and biotech startups. On top of that, we were joined by experienced founder Brian Kelly, CEO of emproof, who shared some of his first-hand experiences and lessons: 👉 Don’t over complicate your company valuation for your Seed round. Take into account your (future) R&D, potential upside and dare to be the first one who suggests a number to the investor. 👉 Don’t underestimate the importance of cultural differences of cultures that are seemingly similar and 👉 As founder, work on the core business only. Delegate or outsource anything that someone else can do better than you, so you can focus on the core of the business. Great to see such an ambitious group of young dedicated entrepreneurs trying to create a better tomorrow! Good luck on your entrepreneurial journey! Thank you to Brian Kelly, Bart van Grevenhof and Beaudine Moll!

“During this 2-day trip to the Ruhr region, we learned a lot about doing business in Germany and made valuable new (business) friends. It helped us take a big step forward in our launch in Germany. Should you plan to expand to Germany, I highly recommend this programme.” (Jeroen Meuleman Geuzenet) Do you represent a Dutch tech startup or scale-up, ready to scale internationally? Is Germany your next target market and are you figuring out your German market growth strategy? Then the 2-day trip to the Ruhr area we are organising together with our friends from Business Metropole Ruhr GmbH is the perfect opportunity for you. Here is why you should join: 👉🏼 You will gain access to local expertise, connections, and potential clients and partners in the German market 👉🏼 You will save valuable time and money when scaling up your business When?  📅September 24th - 25th Get in touch with us through the link in the comments.